Even Wilder Arms
by Anon E. Mous
Summary: This is the second in the Origins Saga. You don’t have to have read the first to understand the second. Steve Talaski a boy from Earth has journeyed to Filgaia (WA2) after going through a portal that he thought would take him home. What happened? R
1. Prologue

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Author's Notes

Hello everyone. Anon E. Mous here with the second story in the Origins Saga. Now, **you don't have to have read my other story to understand this one**. If you _have_ read my other one then you don't really need to read The Next Part.

The Next Part

Before anyone reads this story I do recommend my other one. It's a Lunar: the Silver Star Story Complete fic. I also highly recommend this game, but if you do not plan on playing I will be happy to provide a summery so you can understand the story. **Read no further if you plan to read my other story first.**

In the last story, Steve Talaski, a native of Earth, fell to Lunar. While there he told of the way he gained magic, a vast knowledge of weapons, and destroyed a demon by a spell that would take his life. By some strange turn of events he ended up on Lunar instead of dead. Soon Steve ended up joining the Magic Guild of Vane. He made it his goal to get Nash and Mia, the Guildmaster (Mia) and Premir (Nash), to confess their feelings for each other. After an elaborate plan, he was finally able to get them both talk to each other. He also helped Nash get rid of a big bully in Vane.

After those events, the three went to find the a way for Steve to get home. On the journey, the bully attacked and was repelled. After finding out that the doorway off of Lunar was back in Vane, they teleported back. The bully, once again, attacked and was defeated and Vane saved. Hoping that he had found a way home, Steve stepped through the portal and found himself where he is now.

So, now that everyone is up to speed, here is "Origins Saga 2 of 6: Even Wilder Arms."


	2. Where Am I Now

The Origins Saga 2 of 6

Even Wilder Arms

Chapter 1

Where Am I Now?

Steve screamed as he tumbled through the swirling vortex of colors. With a bright flash, the vortex ended. The robe Steve wore gave little protection as he skidded to a stop on the hard ground.

He moaned a little as he picked himself up off the dirt. He looked behind him, expecting to see the same stone structure that had been under Vane. All he saw was a large barren plane.

_Did I do something wrong? Maybe Damon was wrong and it teleports you somewhere else on Lunar._

What sounded like gas venting, snapped Steve back to reality. He turned around and instinctively drew his sword. A red sphere emitting a yellow gas, floated a few feet from the boy.

"Yeah I definitely don't think I'm home." The creature charged straight for him. Thinking quick, Steve side stepped the monster and slashed with his sword. He drew his dagger, expecting to need more to kill the beast, but instead it fell to the ground, dead. Steve walked over to the fallen monster and looked at it more carefully.

"No way," he said to himself. "A Balloon. I'm on Filgaia." He threw his arms into the air. "Thanks a lot!" he yelled into the sky. He let go a sigh and started walking.

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Marina handed a bag of bread to the boy on the other side of the counter.

"There you go, Tony. Tell Marivel to stop by soon."

"I will Miss Marina. And you tell Ashley that I said hi.'"

Tony left the store and walked down the streets of Meria. As he came to the entrance of the town, he noticed a strange boy standing there.

His hair was short and brown, his eyes looked almost silver, but that wasn't what called attention to him. The thing that was the most noticeable was the peculiar yellow garment he wore.

As Tony approached the boy, he asked, "Dude, why are you wearing a dress?"

"Huh?"

"I said, why are you wearing a dress?'"

"This isn't a dress. It's a sorcerers robe." Tony gave him a strange look. "Look, kid. can you tell me where I am?"

"Sure, dude. This is Meria."

"Meria, huh. Where's the bakery?" Tony pointed to the shop that he had just come out of. "Thanks man."

As the boy ran toward the store, Tony watched him. "That's one strange guy," he said, as he left the town.

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"That's one strange kid," Steve said while running toward the bakery. He quickly found it and went inside.

"Hello. May I help you with something?" said a sweet voice. A brown haired, young woman stood behind the counter.

"I hope so. Are you Marina?"

"Yes," she replied with a confused look.

"Then I have a request that you may not like. I need to talk to Ashley about an adventure. I need his help to find a way home."

"I'm sorry . . . "

"Steve."

"I'm sorry, Steve, but Ashley doesn't go on adventures anymore. And if you don't mind me saying so, taking you home doesn't sound like much of an adventure."

"Trust me, this is more than just a walk to another town."

"Fine. You can speak to him if you want to. Ashley should be home soon. You may wait upstairs, if you like."

"Thank you. I will." With a quick bow of his head, Steve went up to one of the rooms to wait.

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The sun was setting before Steve heard the sound of boots on the stairs. _Yeah, soon my butt, _he thought. A knock came on the door. Steve knew who it was, but decided to have a little fun with him.

"Who is it?" he asked.

"It's Ashley."

"Who?"

"Ashley."

"Ashley's not here."

"No, I'm Ashley."

"Ashley?"

"Yeah."

"Ashley's not here."

"Are you going to open the door or not?"

"Who is it?"

No answer come from the other side. Steve wiated a moment. Still nothing. He went over and opened the door, only to find Ashley standing by on the the other side.

"Aww. You ruined my fun."

"You wanted to talk to me," he simply stated.

"Yeah," Steve replied. "But still . . . Anyway, I wanted to talk to you about a adventure."

"I'm sorry, but I can't help you. I no longer go on adventures. I've hung up my bayonet cartridges for good." Ashley turned and started to walk away. He stopped short at Steve's next comment.

"But why? I somehow don't think that's you wanted to do?"

Steve couldn't see it, but Ashley's eyes dropped, and his mouth curved into a frown. He sighed.

"It doesn't matter what I want anymore."

"Ashley . . . "

"Look, I don't even know who you are, or why you're here."

"My name is Steve. I'm from another dimension."


	3. Recap

Chapter 2

Recap

Steve and Ashley walked down the stairs. Marina and her mother sat at the counter, waiting for customers. 

"Marina, could you come here?" Ashley called.

Relinquishing the counter to her mother, Marina walked over to the two boys. As soon as she reached them, Ashley turned back to the visitor.

"All right, kid. Spill it."

"Sure. Just don't call me kid,'" he replied.

"Here's the short version of my story. I come from a world with no magic, aside from my sword, me, and a demon that had just broken free from it's prison. I then had to fight him and his minions. Sigh I ended up casting a spell to take my life. So I died, basically."

Marina was shocked by what she had just heard. She was unsure of what to say but managed a "You're a ghost?"

"Well, not in the undead sense. At least I don't think. I still seem to have some of the holy powers that I once had. You don't see too many ghosts with holy powers, you know. Anyway, back to the story. So, I died, and then found myself in another dimention. On a world called Lunar. I ended up convincing two people to finally tell of their feelings for each other. I helped the magic guild take care of a bully. I thought I found a way out of that dimention, and back home, but I ended up here instead. Now I need your help in getting home."

Neither of the two knew exactly how to respond to the boy. He seemed too easy going evil. He didn't seem to be crazy either. Maybe a little strange, but not crazy. The boy also didn't seem to be lying either. It was quite a yarn but there was just something about him. 

It was Marina who finally broke the silence. "Why do you need Ashley's help?" she asked. "I'm sure that there is someone else who could help you."

"I'm sorry, but I need someone who has an extensive knowledge of this world. There are few who know more of Filgaia's secreats than Ashley. Strangly enough, some of them are his friends."

"Ashley, aren't you going to say something?" Marina looked at Ashley. He cast his eyes to the floor. "Ashley?"

"Marina, I want to go," he murmered.

"What?!" she asked.

"I want to help him."

"Uh, oh," came Steve. Marina's eyes were stained with hurt at Ashley's comment. This was not going to be good for anyone.

"Fine! If you want to go off and get yourself killed, then go ahead." Marina ran up the stairs, crying. Ashley just stood there. He knew that he was in deep, but there was nothing he could do.

"We'll leave in the morning," he said

Steve was shocked at what he had just heard. "You want to risk your life for me and hurt Marina's feelings in the process, and you're not going to fix this?!" he almost shouted. "Are you just trying to screw yourself over or what?"

"What am I supposed to do?"

"Ashley. I did it for Nash and Mia, and I'll do the same for the two of you. You'll be in that happily ever after' stage, or I'm not Steve Talaski, the Holy Knight."


	4. The New Adventure

AN: Sorry for not getting around to this for so long. I've been doing more of writing it on paper than on the computer. Oh well, here is chapter 3.

Chapter 3

The New Adventure

Marina quietly cried into her pillow. _Why does Ashley have to be such a jerk? Can't he think about how anyone else feels? About how I feel? Sometimes I . . . _A sharp knock at the door interrupted her thoughts as a voice called from the other side of the door.

"Marina, may I talk to you?" This was not at all the voice that she expected to hear.

"Go away, Steve. I don't want to talk to someone I hardly know."

"You may not know me, but I know you. I also know Ashley. That's what I need to talk to you about."

"I don't want to hear it."

Steve tried turning to doorknob. It was locked. "Sometimes what people want to hear and what they need to hear are completely different things." There was no sign of movement on Marina's side. "If you don't let me in, I can and will go through the door." Steve listened intently for any signs of movement. Finally he heard soft footsteps coming toward the door. Then a click and the door opened. Steve stepped into the room as Marina closed and locked the door behind him.

He turned to face her. Marina's eyes were streaked with red so that anyone could tell that she was crying. As he looked up he could see that her eyes still held a few unshed tears. He let go a sigh before anything else.

"Okay," he started. "Why are you mad?"

"What kind of question is that?" Marina grumbled.

Steve sighed. "Bear with me here. I'm about to provide you with a rare look into the mind of a man, and more importantly, your man. So . . . why are you mad?"

"Fine," came an exasperated sigh. "I'm mad because Ashley wants to risk his life for a guy that he doesn't even know."

"Very good. Now, before Ashley went on his big adventure, he did what for a job?"

"He was a soldier."

"Right. And did he risk his life for people he didn't know when he went on his great adventure?"

"Well . . . yes."

"Do you see what I'm getting at here?"

"Yes. Ashley likes to put himself in very dangerous situations," Marina sniffed as she wiped away the last of her tears.

Steve chuckled. "Well, that may be so, but that is because he is an adventurer. He craves the excitement, the challenge. He can't just be cooped up in one place."

"But he promised that he would stop. For me."

Steve gave a deep sigh. "Marina, I'm going to say this slowly. One because I want you to hear every word of it, and two because it's kind of hard to say faster. You can take the adventurer . . . off the adventure . . . but you can't take the adventure . . . out of the adventurer. This is something that he was born to do. You can see it burning in his eyes, but there's also something else.

"When you left us down there you weren't able to see it. He was sad. Sad that you couldn't approve. That you weren't part of this world."

"Well what does he want me to do?" she asked sarcastically. "Come with him?" Steve's eyebrows shot up, as a grin slowly crept across his face.

----------------------------------------

"Okay, all better," Steve said as he came down the stairs. Ashley's look was one of utter amazement.

"But that didn't take you all that long." Steve smiled. He knew that he didn't have a whole lot of experience dealing with the opposite sex, probably less than Ashley. He did, however, have a knack for understanding other people's problems.

"Marina couldn't understand why you wanted to go off on an adventure with someone that you just met. I just asked her to give you a chance. By the way she is coming with us, just so you know." Ashley nearly jumped out of his skin at the boy's comment. He was about to protest when Steve cut him off. "And there's no way to get out of it, so don't even try."

Steve was almost out of the door, and heading for the inn, when he stuck his head back in the shop. "Oh and by the way. Marina said that you're not totally off the hook yet. She said that you are sleeping on the couch tonight. Sorry man, I tried."


	5. Traveling Companions

AN: Hey all. I am sorry for the delay so I am uploading the next two chapters at once. I don't know when I'll get around to updating further, between finals and work. Oh well, try to get things up ASAP.

Chapter 4

Traveling Companions

It was nearly ten before Steve opened the door of the bakery. Ashley and Marina were waiting for him. Both were dressed in traveling clothes. Ashley was in his old battle gear and carried his bayonet weapon. Marina was dressed in a small, pink skirt, plain, light blue shirt, and black traveling boots.

Steve was wearing the same clothes that they had met him in the other day. The bright yellow mage robe that he had obtained from his last adventure on Lunar. In truth the robe wasn't as bright as it used to be. It looked like it hadn't been washed in a while, but its wearer didn't seem to mind.

"What took you so long?!" Ashley almost shouted. "I told you that we were leaving in the morning."

"What are you talking about? As long as it's after midnight and before noon, it's morning." Ashley stood there in silence for a moment. He couldn't argue with that logic. Technically Steve was right, and he never did specify on a time. Finally, he gave up trying to think of a way out, and decided to tell him what was going on.

"Steve, we needed a way to get around, so I contacted Kanon. She and Brad will be around soon in the Chateau. We need to meet them at the pick up point in an hour or two."

"Whoa. Then we need to go. Why didn't you tell me to be here earlier?" Ashley shot him a look that seemed to say I'm going to kill you.' Steve Ignored it as the trio walked toward the door. "Hey, Marina. You got a weapon?"

"No. I'm not a fighter," she replied.

Steve shot a glance toward Ashley. "Monsters don't care Marina. Here." Steve reached into the large arm hole of his robe. After a small bit of fidgeting, he removed a sheath, strap, and dagger, and gave it to her.

"Strap this around your waist. If a monster comes at you, don't hesitate to use it."

Marina gave a smile as she took the weapon. "What else do you have in there?" she mocked.

"A sword, some healing items, a bag of silver, and a book on magic," he replied with a smirk. "Why?"

The other two just shook their heads and left for the town entrance. Once they got out of the town, Ashley began leading the way to the pick up spot. It wasn't long before the three ran into a group of ballons.

Steve and Ashley drew their weapons. Ashley shot Marina one of those stay here' looks. He and Steve then stepped forward to face the beasts. Steve was the first to strike, slicing the creature in half with his sword. Ashley struck a split second later, plunging his weapon deep into the monster. While Ashley was absorbed in his attack, he didn't see the third ballon attack.

It was headed straight for him, just about to attack. Suddenly Marina appeared out of nowhere dagger drawn.

"Get away from him!" she yelled. Marina began slashing wildly. As the blows connected, the monsters screamed in pain. Finally the monster fell. Marina stood there, breathing hard and clutching the small blade. Steve walked over to her, knowing exactly why she hadn't moved.

"You feel that rush of adrenaline? The one you got from saving Ashley? That is one of the things about adventures that Ashley loves."

The three continued walking as Marina came down from her adrenaline high. Just as they had reached the platform, the Valeria Chateau flew overhead. In a flash of yellow light, the three were transported into the ship.

----------------------------------------

"So this is the kid," said Kanon. The group of five met in the former ARMS meeting room.

"Why does everyone keep calling me kid?'" 

"You are a kid," came Brad.

"Still. I don't go around calling you adult,' do I? Call me Steve."

"Fine," said Kanon, a bit irritated. "Steve, why don't you tell us what happened."

Kanon and Brad listened intently as Steve retold his story. He went into more detail about his time before the adventure than he had with Ashley and Marina. As he finished, Brad leaned back in his chair. It was quite a tale that Steve was telling.

"So . . . Will you help me?" he asked.

"Just a minute," said Kanon. "I'm not a charity. Ashley and Marina may be my friends, but you aren't. I want to be paid for my services."

"Are you telling me that you weren't listening to a thing I said? I'm not from around here. I have no Gella. The only money that have is Silver from Lunar."

"Hmm." Brad stood up from his chair. "You say that you are not from this world, yet you know of our money and our monsters."

"I . . ."

"He's lying!" Kanon yelled, drawing her weapons.

"Let me explain."

"Enough talk." Kanon executed a Left Edge. Steve drew his own blade to block the attack. Thinking fast, he did a sweep kick as Kanon was coming down. The maneuver succeeded in knocking the woman flat on her back. Steve raised his sword to her neck, then he heard a click. Brad's Bazooka was aimed right at his head.

"Drop the weapon," Brad stated calmly.

"She attacked me," Steve replied, not moving.

"Drop the weapon," he said again.

"I want her to listen to what I have to say first."

"This is your last warning." Ashley now had his Bayonet aimed for the boy as well. Steve looked over at Brad. Then down to Kanon. Finally over to Ashley and a terrified Marina.

"I guess I was wrong about you guys," he said sheathing his sword. "I didn't think that you were the types to jump to conclusions. Or to be so dishonorable as to attack a defenseless boy." He shot a glance towards Kanon. "Since you are obviously not going to trust me, goodbye." Steve turned and walked out of the room.


	6. Man to Man

Chapter 5

Man to Man

"Kanon! What the hell was that about?!" Brad yelled.

Kanon picked herself off the ground and shrugged. "He knew too much."

"He came to us for help," said Ashley. Brad pushed past the others towards the door.

"Where do you think you're going?" Kanon demanded.

"I'm going to do my duty as a hero. I'm going to help him."

"Wait!" Ashley called. "I'm coming with you."

"Ashley," came Brad, barely above a whisper. "We're gonna need the Chateau if we want to help him. Talk to Kanon. If she won't come with us, at least try to get her to let us borrow her ship." Brad made a grab for Ashley's com. "I'll contact you when we're ready to come back." Ashley nodded as his friend ran off to the elevator.

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Steve stopped walking when he saw a beam of light come down from the ship. He was a ways away from the ship already, but still close enough to make out just who was coming out of the ship. Expecting to see Ashley and Marina on their return trip home, he was surprised when it was Brad's form that was running towards him.

"Steve . . . "

"Brad, you already made it quite clear that you weren't going to trust me when you pulled out your Bazooka."

"You had a sword to my friend's neck."

"Did you just come down to argue with me?" Brad sighed and sat down on a nearby boulder and motioned for Steve to do the same. The boy took a seat, but held a look that said 'Bring it on, it won't change a thing.'

"Steve, please don't judge us by Kanon. Ashley and I truly would like to help you. It's just that Kanon can be a little . . . "

"Excitable?" Steve finished. "Yeah, I noticed." The sarcasm in his voice was thick. Brad laughed at the comment. It was just so true.

"Well you seem to know Kanon's personality. You know, the first time we met her, she attacked . . . "

"She attacked while you were in that magical loop thing on that train." Brad had a look of utter disbelief. "She attacked you and you fought her off. And at no time did you have a friend' pointing a bazooka at your head." Brad winced at the last remark.

"Listen, I'm sorry about that. What can I do to make it up to you?"

"Nothing," Steve said, plainly.

"There is nothing any of us can do to make it up to you?"

"There is no need. I've already forgiven you." Brad now had a look of utter confusion across his face. He stumbled around for a minute to find an actual question to ask the boy, but he cut him off. "In all honesty, I don't get offended very easily. Back on my home world, I used to take a whole lot of shit."

"Why didn't you stand up for yourself?"

Steve stared at the adventurer before him, with one of those weren't you listening' looks. "I wasn't always the way I am now."

"Oh. Right."

"Anyway, I really only had one person that I could take my whole lot of shit' to. My cousin, Spencer. He taught me how to let things roll off, and not let it get to me. It's because of him that I have become pretty thick skinned. No, no. This whole thing with Kanon was just to prove a point. She needs to learn to trust people more."

"So you'll let us help you, then?" the older man Inquired.

"Why not? I got nothing better to do." Steve slid off the rock and began to head for the ship. Brad began to follow behind, but there was still something plaguing his mind.

"Steve?"

"Hmm?"

"How did you know all of this stuff?"

"Brad, let me give you an introduction to the wonderful world of video games. On my world . . ." as the two walked, Steve gave his friend a crash course in the technological wonders known as video games. They were only a small ways from the ship when he had finished.

"A game?" asked Brad in a disbelieving tone. "I'm sorry Steve, but our whole adventure in a game just doesn't seem possible."

Steve gave a chuckle. "Brad, I'm a fifteen year old, sword wielding, magic using, matchmaking, dimension hopping, dead guy. I think we passed the realm of possible a long time ago."

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Ashley and Marina stood on the bridge of the Chateau. Kanon was there with them, pacing across the room. "You jumped to conclusions," chided the blue haired adventurer. "You didn't even let him answer to your accusation." The dark haired exorcist just kept pacing. Her gaze never left the path she was walking. Kanon either wasn't paying attention, or didn't have an answer.

"Kanon, were you even listening to what he said?" asked Marina.

"When is Brad supposed to come back?"

"Whenever he can convince Steve to let us help him. After the damage that you did, it could take a while!" Ashley took a deep breath and calmed down. "Listen, Kanon. If you don't like him, that's your problem, and it's fine. We are going to help him. If you want to come with us, you can, but if not, we would like to ask to use the Chateau."

Beep beep! Beep beep!

Ashley picked up his communicator. "Brad? Okay. All right. No, still working on it. Fine." Ashley put the device away. "Brad and Steve are coming back. What's your answer about the Chateau."

Ashley heard a small growl in her voice as she gave her answer. "I go where the ship goes."


	7. The Search Begins

AN: Sorry this was late. I have no good excuse.

Chapter 6

The Search Begins

Steve's hands moved all over the keyboard in the control room. The computer screen on the wall showed a picture that was changing with each passing moment. With each touch of a button, Steve added more detail to his picture.

"You're quite good at that," said Marina, looking over his shoulder.

"Thanks," he replied. "I had a similar program on my computer, at home." If Steve had looked behind him, he would have seen a very confused group of people. With the final punch of a button, what was one object, now became many, arranged into a circle.

"Okay." He stepped away from the screen. "This is what we're looking for. At least, I think it's what we're looking for. It's how I got off the last world I was on. My home has the same structure; we call it Stone Henge."

"So this is some magical artifact," Ashley inquired.

"As far as I know."

"I looks kind of like that monument in Baskar," Marina chimed in.

"True," Kanon replied. "But if Steve is telling the truth . . . " she glared at him. "The structure should be extremely old. The one in Baskar is relatively new."

"Also," came Brad. "The one in Baskar is just a single structure, not a bunch in a circle."

Marina hung her head in shame, but Ashley quickly came to her defense. "Still, it's worth checking out. This thing may have something to do with the guardians."

Marina quickly perked up. "So are we going to Baskar first?"

"No," said Ashley. Everyone looked puzzled. "If there is something that I learned from our first adventure, it's that Irving and Marivel's research was key. We should check Irving's books first. If we don't find something there, the best move would be to ckeck out the Seije Region. Their library may have something on what we're looking for."

Marina watched in awe as Ashley spoke. There seemed to be a spark in him that he rarely saw anymore. It was as if new life had been breathed into him.

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Steve sat at the desk in his room, scowering over a few of the books from Irving's library. He was so focused that he nearly fell out of his chair when a knock came at the door.

"Yeah," he called while catching his breath.

"It's Marina. Can I come in?"

"I don't know. _Can_ you?" he called back.

"May I come in?"

"I don't know . May you?" There was silence for a moment, on both sides of the door.

"I don't know how to answer that," Marina called.

Steve opened the door, with a smile. "That's okay. Me neither." He motioned for her to come in. She walked in and sat down on the bed. "What's up?"

"You said you wanted to help me and Ashley, right?" Steve nodded. "Then I need some information about Ashley."

"Shoot."

"When Ashley was talking today about what we were going to do, I saw something. There was a . . . fire that he had that wasn't there before. Do you know what I'm talking about?"

Steve sat down and leaned back in his chair. "He's on an adventure," the boy replied, as if that would explain everything. Marina, on the other hand, was now beyond puzzled. She was confounded. "He's excited."

"But we weren't fighting anything. What is there to be excited about?"

"You still don't get if," Steve sighed. "Yes I will admit that fighting is a big part of adventuring, and probably the most exciting part, there is more than just that. Fighting is only half of the adventure. The other half is the mystery. Most of the greatest adventures sprouted from mysteries.

"If you look at most of the ruins that Ashley, Kanon, and Brad explored, you would often find an impassible trail. With that trail often comes a riddle, or only partial instructions as to what to do."

"So It's another mystery," Marina cut in.

"Exactly. Adventurers are always looking for the harder puzzle, or bigger reward but let's not get into that." Marina gave a small giggle. "Without the harder puzzle, the skills of the adventurer get rusty in solving them. Ashley is excited because my predicament is quite puzzeling."

"Does that mean that I'm going to have to start answering riddles, too?"

Steve laughed. "It couldn't hurt."

"But, I'm no good at them."

Steve Smiled warmly. "There are ways to build such skills, but is's getting late, so here's the deal. We'll play a little game." Steve began flipping through one of his magic books, before finally landing on a single spell. He began encanting the words to a spell. The door began to glow a faint purple, before dying down.

"You are now the only one able to take me out of this room for any reason. The catch is that you can't do that until you answer my riddle all by yourself."

"All right," came Marina sounding a bit nervous.

"Good. Here's the riddle:

I chase away the darkness,

when it comes to call,

But when the sun is in it's place

I am no use at all."

Marina stared at him blankly. It was obvious that she had no clue as to the answer. Steve stood and grabbed the doorknob.

"Think about if a while. Good night, Marina." Marina got up, still obviously puzzled, and walked to the door.

"Good night," she replied sweetly.

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Knock Knock

"Identify yourself," came a dark voice.

"Steve? It's Brad."

"Only one may enter this room," the dark voice came again. "The one with the answer to my riddle. Seek her out and have her answer."

"What? Steve, what's going on?" Brad reached for the doorknob. A crystal encasement formed around the knob.

"Only she can free me."

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Marina paced back and forth across her room. _There has to be some answer to this riddle. I chase away darkness, when it comes to call.' Well, light chases away darkness. But when the Sun is in its place, I am no use at all.' Maybe it's something that makes light. Wait! That's it!_

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Marina ran out of her room and right into Brad, knocking him down.

"Where are you off to in such a rush?" he asked, still on the ground.

"I'm sorry, Brad. I have got to go free Steve." Marina picked herself off the ground and started quickly walking toward Steve's room.

"From what?" Brad yelled, exasperated.

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"Identify yourself," came a dark voice.

"Uh . . . Marina?"

"I chase away the darkness,

when it comes to call,

But when the sun is in it's place

I am no use at all."

"You're a candle," Marina stated confidently. A purple crystal encasement around the doorknob, but after a second it dispeled. Marina took hold of the knob and opened the door.

Steve stood in the middle of his room. His legs were twisted in a way that Marina didn't think was humanly possibly. "Congradulations," he said as he staggered/danced/hopped in the center of the room. His face was somewhat twisted, and changing every second.

"Would somebody please tell me what's going on," came Brad's voice from the door.

"Love to," Steve replied, face twisting even more. "But later. I made the mistake of locking myself in this room before going to the bathroom. Excuse me." Steve ran passed Brad and down the hall.

"Come on, Brad. We can talk about this over breakfast." Marina gave him a soft smile as she led him to breakfast.


	8. More Friends

Chapter 7

More Friends

"Nothing here," Ashley called from the top of the bookcase. He jumped down from the stool. "I don't thing we're going to find anything here."

"Whey not?" Steve asked as he scanned the bindings of one of the rows of books.

"Kanon donated most of the older ones to Sielje. They were going to copy them, give Kanon the copies and keep the originals."

"Then it's a good thing were going there," Steve replied.

"Ashley, Steve," came a voice over the intercom. Ashley answered.

"What is it, Kate?"

"We're passing over the Sielje region now. Kanon wants to know if you found anything in the books." Ashley looked back at Steve. He looked up from the last book on the shelf and shook his head. "We haven't found anything," he said into the com. There was silence for a moment.

"Please meet in the control room for depatture."

Ashley turned back to his friend. "Come on," he said. Steve replaced the book he was looking at, and followed ashley out the door.

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The group stepped out from the circle of light ona on to the busy street of Sielje. Crest sorcerers lined the streets. The city was seething with magic power. Steve could have felt it if he tried, but he didn't feel a reason to try sensing the power. He was just starting to get the hang of magic sensing, but there would be time for that later. The magic book he had gotten for a gift was really helping with that.

"Nice place they got here," Steve remarked. "Now who do we talk to to get permission for the library?"

As if right on cue a high pitched voice cut through the hordes of people. "Ashley?!"

A young girl, about Steve's age, stood before them. She had brown hair, pale green eyes, and wore a short, red dress. She walked over to the group with a confused, yet still happy expression.

"What are you guys doing here?" she asked as she hugged each of her friends. When she came to the brown haired boy she expected to be Tim, she hugged him too. The girl gave a startled jump when she looked into the face of the stranger in her embrace. Steve was now blushing like crazy, as was the energetic young girl. He wasn't used to being hugged by girls.

"Steve, this is Lilka," said Brad, fighting back a laugh.

"Friendly, isn't she?" Kanon cut in.

"Sorry," Lilka said sheepishly as their friends laughed at them. "I thought you were Tim."

"It's okay," Steve replied. "N-no harm, aside from emotional." Lilka giggled at the comment.

"So what are you all doing here?" she asked

"Our new friend here asked for our helped in getting home," Ashley replied.

"He lives in Selije?" Lilka questioned.

"He _claims_ to be from another dimention," said Kanon with a condecending tone.

"My god, Kanon!" Steve said exhasperated. "You still don't believe me? How else would I know so much about your group's adventures if my story wasn't true?"

"Asking people," she replied.

Steve threw his hands in the air. "Fine. You want me to say something that nobody knows? Ashley, did you tell anyone what you saw just after you defeated Vinsfield?" Steve and Kanon were now trying to stare each other down, and didn't see Ashley's shocked expression.

"Not exactly," he said slowly.

"You had a little run in with the Sword Magess," Steve started. "As well as Lucid. As you walked, talked, and fought, you were interrupted several times by Marivel. Now, am I right or am I mistaken?"

There was silence for a moment. "That's amazing," was all he said.

Kanon turned her gaze from the boy. "Still doesn't prove anything," she muttered. Steve heard the remark, but decided not to push the subject further. This was not the time or place to try and resolve this.

"Lilka, we need to use the library here," said Brad. "It may hold a way for Steve to ger home."

"Another adventure?!" exclaimed to young sorceress. "All right! I can probably help too. What are we looking for?"

Steve unfolded a piece of paper from his sorcerers robe. "We're looking for this structure or the name Stone Hendge." Lilka took the paper and studied it for a minute.

"I'm sorry. I've never seen it before. And I've never heard of Stone Hendge."

"It's all right. I just hope the library can tell us something."

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"I'm sorry, Kanon. Your books aren't ready yet." The group of six now stood before the librarian's desk. What seemed like miles of bookcases stretched out over the massive library.

"Actually we just need to see the library," interrupted Lilka.

"Shhhhhh!" came the voices of several people around them. Lilka slunk back behind the biggest thing she could find . . . Brad.

"Of course," whispered the librarians. "Look at anything you like."

The group looked at the huge amount of books before them. Brad gave a very audiable sigh. "Looks like we could be here a while."

"All right," Ashley said, taking charge. "Two people to a bookcase. Steve and I, Brad and Kanon, Marina and Lilka." Marina began to protest, but stopped when Steve raised a hand.

"Just a second," he said pulling her aside.

"Why can't I work with Ashley on this?" she asked as soon as they were out of earshot.

"Adventures sometimes mean not working with everyone you want. Besides, how are we supposed to talk about you if you're there?" Steve smirked. As Marina looked into his face. Her stern face gradually grew into a smile. She nodded, acknowledging she understood. They walked back to the group. "Let's go. And mind to old books.

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"You owe me big," Steve stated as he and Ashley walked to a nearby bookcase.

"For what?" he asked in suprise.

"For pulling your ass out of the fire just a minute ago. What's the idea of not picking Marina to help find books with you. I had to come up with some kind of story to tell her. You almost screwed yourself again."

"It hurt her that much?"

Steve sighed and pulled a book off of the shelf. "Man, you really need to think of how something will affect Marina's feelings . . . before you act. Adventures use snap decisions, and you're good at that. The thing is, Marina is not a real adventurer. I'm trying to turn her into some type of adventurer or at least to understand why you are." Steve leafed through the book as he continued to speak.

"If you don't let her do more adventurer stuff with _you,_ you're not going to get much understanding. I'm not gonna be here all the time to fix things."

Ashley looked through his own book. "I'm just trying to protecther. I'm worried about her."

Steve put his book back and got a new one. "And by having her look for books with Lilka she is protected from the evil book monsters? Or does Lilka have a special crest that protects people from paper cuts?" Ashley glared at him, telling him that he may have went too far.

"Listen, if you're scared about her getting hurt, why not teach her, so she won't?"

"I don't know how to use a blade, aside from Argetlahm."

"Talk to Kanon. I'd do it myself, but I somehow get the feeling that she doesn't trust me. Ah, maybe I'm just paranoid." Ashley gave a chuckle. It was the first time he'd laughed in a while. It felt good.

Ashley looked toward Lilka and Marina at another case. _She really is beautiful_, Ashley thought to himself. _When's the last time I told her that?_

"Do you think I should . . ."

Steve cut him off. "Man, if you don't switch with Lilka, I'll go switch with Marina." Ashley smiled and walked over to the women.

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"Trying to fix those two, huh?" Steve shrugged.

"So?"

"You're a brave one. Those two are so strange when it comes to love, it's not even funny.

Steve smirked. "Oh, I don't know. It's a little funny."

"All right. Maybe a little," she giggled.

Steve held outan old book. "Come on," he said. "We have a lot of work to do."

The searching went on for hours, only stopping for lunchand bathroom breaks. The searching continued well into the night. It was almost midnight before anything happened.

Steve jumped as he felt a tap on his shoulder. "Don't _do_ that," he whispered harshly. He began to take deep breaths to let his heart settle down.

"Sorry," Brad apoligized, while his friend turned around. "We think we found something." Steve's head shot up. Brad had spoken softly, but loud enough for the other groups to hear. Ashley and Marina were at Steve's side in a second.

"What did you find?" Lilka questioned. She was sitting across the table, with an open book in front of her.

"Well, we found a picture of the structure, but . . . you may just want to come and take a look."

Brad led them to the table where Kanon sat. She was obviously frustrated when they got there. "I can't read any of this. What now?"

Kanon stood up and walked over to Ashley and Brad. "That book is in a language that I've never seen before."

Ashley sighed. "We could go to get Marivel. She knows about ancient languages."

"But do we need it done right away?" Brad cut in. "It may not have anything and we'd be wasting a trip."

"Or it may hold everyth . . . "

"Do you guys mind? I'm trying to read." Steve now sat where Kanon had gotten up from.

"Don't tell me you can read that," Kanon said, exhasperated.

"But if I don't tell you, you won't get fed up with me. And that's no fun."

"How do you understand that?" inquired Marina.

"Same way I can understand you guys, I guess." Everyone looked puzzled. "Back on Earth, there are a ton of different languages. Azoric had a spell called Universal Speech' where, if I talked anyone could understand me, and vice versa. I also seem to be able to read any language as well, but not write it. Don't ask me why."

"What about the book?" Kanon asked, impatiently.

Steve scanned over the book again, "I believe it will work, but right now I'm tired. So unless someone else can read this, we should probably ger some sleep."

They agreed and followed Lilka to a nearby inn. She left them to get their rooms and went to her own dorm.

AN: Hello all, and thanks for reading. I am sorry that this chapter took so long, but it couldn't be avoided. I am also sorry for what I have to say now. Unfortunatly this fic will remain stagnant until at least after the semester or baseball gets finished. I am sorry, and hope that you all will keep reading anyway

Live With Honor

Anon E. Mous


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